I last wrote a Moodnudges post on December 17th, explaining that I’d be taking a break from writing until the New Year.

As a result, a veritable multitude of readers got in touch to wish me well.

This was a delight and surprise.

It was also a joy for me to spend 10 days back in the UK, almost entirely with my mum, and my brother and his wife.

Although I adore my life in California (it’s been four years now) and do keep in close contact with my family at home, nothing beats being in the same room as the people you love.

Having a few weeks to take stock of things has also enabled me to start weighing up what might be next for Moodnudges.

Some readers have joined us recently (thank you) while others have loyally followed me since I began writing my daily newsletters for Moodscope in (hold your hats) 2008, a whole decade ago.

One heck of a lot has changed in that time, and although there have been good times for us both, I hope, I’m not so sure that the world in 2018 is much of a happier place than it was ten years ago.

Among many other monumental evolutions and revolutions, the way we communicate is very different.

In 2008, for example, email seemed – and was – a fantastic medium for someone such as me to communicate with a reader like you.

Not so much today, I think.

If you’re anything like me, your inbox has become virtually unmanageable.

The sheer volume of emails has made it all but impossible to deal with.

The Moodnudges email list used to grow consistently, but during the past year it has remained pretty static as some new people subscribed, while others left us – usually explaining a bit ruefully that they were just generally getting too many emails all-round to cope with.

Part of my thinking about taking a break over Christmas, therefore, was to give you a break from at least four messages a week, even though I suspect this would have been but a drop in the ocean.

Partly because of this, and also partly because my own work situation is in flux (in a good way, I hasten to add) I’ve concluded that it may be time to reimagine Moodnudges.

I have some exciting ideas, and I also want to involve you in the process. After all, we’re in this thing together – and I hugely value our friendship.

Over the next few weeks, therefore, I’m going to trim back the frequency of my messages, to just one per week, but I’m going to step up the openness of our communication, giving you more insight into what’s going on behind the scenes in my world, while also doing my best to prevent this becoming self-indulgent.

I hope you’ll find the next few weeks interesting, and that you’ll witness the evolution of something new and exciting.

More importantly, perhaps, you might take advantage of this experience to think a little about stuff in your own life which could benefit from a change or two.

Although stirring things up can sometimes feel uncomfortable, it’s frequently good to make a change or two.

Next week, I’ll tell you a little about what happened to me work-wise in 2017, and what I foresee developing in 2018.

Happy New Year, John and I’m glad Moodnudges is still around, as well as Moodscope, both of which continue to inspire, engage, motivate and comfort me.
Although our inboxes are overflowing, there will always be some messages that take priority and yours is one of them. I happily delete all sorts of irrelevant e-mails but not these.
Good luck with the changes you are thinking of making in 2018 – looking forward to hearing more about them

Happy New Year Jon and glad to hear you enjoyed your break with family. I’ve missed your messages but understand you need a change and look forward to hearing about your plans.

One thing I always do in the New Year is review my email subscriptions and decide which ones I don’t really need popping up regularly in my inbox. So I unsubscribe a few knowing I can always visit their websites if I want information.

I too am also planning some possible changes in my life which I hope will be for the better but depend on some factors out of my control which is tricky.

Happy New Year Jon. Best wishes for the new projects. It is great that you realise that things need to change, and you have been so generous to us with your time and expertise for so long. I’m looking forward to hearing what’s next .

Thank you Sally, and – of course – happy new year to you, too. It’s kind of you to suggest that I’ve been generous, but I think the truth for me is that I’m hugely grateful to have had such kind, warm attention from so many people who read and engage with Moodnudges, and Moodscope before that. I’m very lucky.

Welcome back, Jon! I hadn’t realised I was missing you until I saw ‘Moodnudges’ in my inbox, and smiled a huge smile of welcome.

Good to hear you had a satisfying break, and I agree that a shake-up every now and again is entirely necessary to keep the energy flowing. I look forward to working together to make it the best it can be.

Speaking as one who’s been with you from the earliest days (after I heard you on Midweek with Libby Purves), I regard you as an old friend now, and one who has helped me and many friends immeasurably.
Happy 2018 to us all.

PS when my inbox becomes unmanageable I unsubscribe to stuff. It only takes a moment but it really helps to cut out the dead wood.

Super to hear from you, Mary. And yes, you and I have been fellow travellers for a long time now, and old friends indeed. That interview with Libby Purves on Radio 4 was definitely a very significant life event for me.

Such good advice to cull your in-box from time to time. I know it can seem like a big task, but the results the next day can feel magical. So happy not to be included in your dead wood category!

Well I’m glad I read all the previous messages as the last one reminded me that it was exactly your interview with Libby Purves that put me onto Moodscope and now Midweek is no more which I totally don’t understand, perhaps like you they could have cut back, maybe to a longer programme once a month?

My inbox is unmanageable and that despite using Unroll.me for subscriptions I don’t want to read all the time. Moodnudges is not included in Unmanageable of course. Happy New Year and I agree about family time especially as my lot are all over the world!

Thanks so much, Sam. It’s rewarding to hear that you’ve found some of the Nudges helpful, and indeed an honour to hear that some have even been printed out. I’ll keep you in the loop about progress over the next few weeks.

Hi Jon – first of all many many thanks for all of your moodnudges – I must read about 90% of them and they are a welcome addition to my inbox. Many times you give an insight which I am able to use with my clients (I work as a psychotherapist). I would be completely supportive of whatever changes you choose to make but understand that you have already been a major contributor.

I could be stick in the mud and say don’t change but what I will say is change and I’ll be excited to see what you do…

I was actually getting a little concerned and tried to work out when you said you’d be back, so I was delighted to find this. I’ll miss the four emails but look forward to hearing about the changes. Thursdays will take on a new significance!

I first ‘met’ you through the article in The Times (London) and have introduced you to various friends over the years, some of whom still follow you.

I wish you well, and will always be grateful for your sensitive and often humorous nudges.

Hi Jon, welcome back and a Happy New Year to you. I must admit I will miss the more frequent nudges, they were the first thing I would read when I got up, but fully respect the need for change, after all ‘change is growth’ and that’s a positive thing. Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us all and thank you so much for inspiring and helping myself and many others .